This disclosure relates generally to hoists. More particularly, this disclosure relates to translating body rescue hoists for aircraft.
Rescue hoists deploy and retrieve a cable from a cable drum to hoist persons or cargo, and the rescue hoist may be mounted to an aircraft, such as a helicopter. The rescue hoist includes a drum off of which the cable is deployed. The cable drum rotates to spool or unspool the cable from the cable drum, with one end of the cable attached to the cable drum and the other end, which can include a hook or other device, deployed during operation. The cable drum requires a gear reduction between the motor and the cable drum to provide a desired rotational speed of the cable drum. The gear reduction typically includes several shafts arranged parallel to each other. The parallel shafts induce large radial combined forces, thus necessitating robust bearings and other supporting components within the rescue hoist. Moreover, each shaft and gear set must be individually installed and aligned with the various other components of the overall transmission system.